Coronavirus

Criminal jury trials are set to resume in the Central Criminal Court later this month and in Circuit Courts by late August as the courts aim to increase the number of hearings following the COVID-19 crisis, Chief Justice Frank Clarke has announced. In a statement issued over the weekend, Ireland's t

Global law firm Dentons will not open its new Dublin office until September as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The firm announced its expansion into Ireland in January with the appointment of two partners from William Fry and Matheson.

The visa waiver programme allowing people visiting the UK on short stay visas to travel to Ireland has been temporarily suspended because of a "divergence in approach" to the COVID-19 pandemic. The measure, announced today by Justice Minister Helen McEntee, will affect nationals from 17 countries, i

More than 70 legal, campaigning and civil society organisations are calling for an urgent public inquiry into the UK government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. Between 43,000 and 65,000 people have died in the UK so far as a result of coronavirus - the figure represents one of the high

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has granted full sick pay to outsourced staff with COVID-19 symptoms, three months after the death of one of its cleaners. Outsourced cleaners who have already self-isolated due to COVID-19 symptoms will also receive a back payment from 1 April 2020.

Physical prison visits will resume in Northern Ireland later this month, Justice Minister Naomi Long has confirmed. Under new guidance, physical visits will be allowed to take place from 27 July, but virtual visits will remain "the preferred option".

Lisa Bryson, partner and head of employment at Eversheds Sutherland in Belfast, considers the impact of COVID-19 on businesses in Northern Ireland. In some ways, it seems that the introduction of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme or the ‘Furlough’ scheme as its more commonly referred

Global experts in law and human rights have contributed to a new online publication about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19, Law and Human Rights: Essex Dialogues, published today by the University of Essex, includes expert analysis on issues including emergency powers legislation, healt

The first tranche of legacy inquests due to be heard as part of a five-year plan may begin to be heard in October in unprecedented "hybrid" hearings following delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The presiding coroner for Northern Ireland, Mrs Justice Siobhan Keegan, who will soon be succeeded in

The UK government should act immediately to deal with a "pandemic of misinformation" that poses an existential threat to our democracy and way of life, according to a report of the Lords' Committee on Democracy and Digital Technologies. The committee said online platforms are not "inherently ungover

Lawyers have been urged by Ms Justice Mary Irvine, the new president of the High Court, to consider settling 320 personal injury cases which have been left "in limbo" since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement this morning, Ms Justice Irvine highlighted statistics showing that 97 per c

New Nightingale-style courts will be opened to deal with the backlog of more than half a million criminal cases that have built up during the pandemic, The Times reports. Ten sites have been identified by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), amongst them town halls and university lecture theatres, wh

The PSNI is facing renewed calls to suspend its use of spit hoods following new evidence that they provide no protection from COVID-19 and could in fact increase the risk of infection. The controversial restraint devices were made more widely available to officers at the end of March by Chief C

Jason O'Sullivan, solicitor and public affairs consultant at J.O.S Solicitors, sets out some tips for employers as public health restrictions begin to ease. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s announcement last week that the Cabinet has approved plans to accelerate Ireland’s exit from current lockd

Physical prison visits will resume on a phased basis next month, nearly four months after their suspension during the COVID-19 crisis, the Irish Prison Service has announced. A new system of video visits was introduced in lieu of physical prison visits following their suspension on 27 March 2020.